When the Zhou family staged their rebellion, the Duke Mu's Mansion had narrowly escaped disaster. At that time, Mu Changtian had used the iron scroll of immunity from death, barely preserving the safety of the entire household.
Yet now, barely more than a year later, Duke Mu's Mansion found itself entangled in turmoil once again.
Lu Chen couldn't help but harbor doubts. Could his father-in-law truly be that foolish?
Even if Mu Changtian did have rebellious inclinations, it was highly unlikely he would so hastily align himself with the remnants of the Chen Kingdom.
He wasn't an idiot.
Emperor Xia was still in the prime of his life, and his cultivation had broken through to the Grandmaster level. With that kind of strength, living to over a hundred wouldn't be the least bit difficult.
Assassinating Emperor Xia and toppling the Great Xia Dynasty wouldn't be so simple.
At that moment, Chu Yuqin stepped forward and spoke urgently, "Chen'er, Zixuan just gave birth. She mustn't find out about this."
Although the concept of postpartum depression didn't formally exist in this era, people still understood that women were especially emotionally vulnerable after childbirth.
If Mu Zixuan were to learn that her entire family had been imprisoned, it might seriously hinder her recovery.
"I understand," Lu Chen replied softly.
He turned his gaze to Qin Yushan and asked, "Commander Qin, is my father injured?"
Qin Yushan shook his head and replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty is unharmed. According to reports, when the remnants of the Chen Kingdom attempted their assassination, the Imperial Master stood before His Majesty and shielded him."
Lu Chen let out a quiet chuckle.
"Were those Chen Kingdom remnants really that brainless? They dared to try assassinating a Grandmaster in front of another Grandmaster?"
Though Situ Ce never publicly declared himself as a Grandmaster, it had long ceased to be a secret. As the pillar of the Great Xia Dynasty, if he hadn't reached the Grandmaster realm, he could hardly be called the backbone of the empire.
The fact that these so-called assassins had attempted such a feat without first determining who stood by the Emperor's side seemed utterly absurd.
"Just how many did they send?" Lu Chen asked. "And what level of strength did these assassins possess?"
Qin Yushan responded with measured clarity, "Based on intelligence from our contacts in the capital, the remnants of the Chen Kingdom infiltrated the palace with thirty assassins in total. Most of them were around the Sixth Rank. The strongest among them were two half-step masters."
Lu Chen was left speechless.
Thirty assassins, only two of whom were half-step masters, sent into one of the most heavily guarded places in the entire empire—all for an attempt on a Grandmaster's life?
And worse, they didn't even verify whether any other top experts were nearby.
Lu Chen began to doubt whether these so-called 'Chen remnants' were truly remnants of the Chen Kingdom.
He narrowed his eyes. "Have the Jinyiwei investigated them thoroughly? Are they truly from the Chen Kingdom?"
Qin Yushan nodded. "Your Highness, Commander Liang has already dispatched men to investigate. The identity of the assassins as Chen Kingdom remnants has been confirmed. However, after deeper investigation, Commander Liang believes that these events may have no direct connection to the Duke Mu's Mansion."
Knowing what Lu Chen truly wanted to confirm, Qin Yushan offered the additional details without hesitation.
Lu Chen fell silent.
First, Emperor Xia had seized the iron scroll of immunity under the pretext of the Zhou family's rebellion.
Next, he stripped Mu Changtian of his military power.
Then, the Army under Mu Changtian was disbanded and its soldiers distributed among other camps.
Now, using the assassination by the Chen remnants as an excuse, the entire Duke Mu household had been imprisoned.
It was clear.
His father—the Emperor—intended to remove Duke Mu's faction once and for all.
Even someone as politically inexperienced as Lu Chen could now see through the sequence of moves.
Mu Changtian and Zhou Wangtian had once stood as the two great pillars of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Now, Zhou Wangtian had been crushed. And as for Mu Changtian… his turn had clearly come.
With the removal of both of these military titans, Emperor Xia's grasp on the empire's power would reach an unprecedented peak—perhaps the greatest in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Military power, once fragmented, would now be firmly within his hands.
But to what end?
As Lu Chen remained quiet, lost in his thoughts, Chu Yuqin let out a soft sigh. "Chen'er, I fear… your father is preparing to move against the aristocratic families."
Her words snapped Lu Chen from his reverie.
So that's it.
To move against the noble clans—the cornerstone of imperial politics for centuries—required absolute control over the military.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to shake them.
His father was not simply seizing power… he was preparing for war.
War against a thousand years of entrenched privilege.
Very few emperors in history had dared such a feat. Heck few even dare to harbour such ambitions.
After all, dynasties came and went, but the aristocratic families endured. Even when dynasties collapsed, those old bloodlines lived on, and their monopoly over the court was often untouched.
Lu Chen found himself somewhat in awe of his father's sheer ambition.
Yet his own situation had become exceedingly awkward.
His mother came from the powerful Chu clan of Jiangnan—one of the great aristocratic families.
And his wife, the princess, was Mu Changtian's daughter.
He was tied to the very forces his father now sought to crush.
Lu Chen glanced at Qin Yushan and asked, "Has the court decided how to handle the princess?"
"This matter has stirred much debate," Qin Yushan answered. "The Eighth Prince argued that the princess should be brought back to the capital to be tried along with her family. However, the First Prince insisted that the princess is now your wife, and thus no longer a member of the Duke Mu's household."
Lu Chen chuckled. "I didn't expect someone in the capital to still speak up for a 'useless' prince like me."
Just then, a palace soldier entered the martial training ground.
"Your Highness," he announced, "a man claiming to be from the Imperial Guards requests an audience."
The soldier cast a brief glance at the Jinyiwei stationed around the training ground before adding, "He wears the same uniform as them."
"Let him in," Lu Chen commanded.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Moments later, the palace soldier returned, leading in the man from the Imperial Guards.
The moment the Jinyiwei soldier laid eyes on Lu Chen, he dropped to one knee. "Your Highness!"
"Rise," Lu Chen said.
At first, Lu Chen assumed the man had just arrived from the capital, delayed by travel. But as soon as the soldier stood, he reached into his waist pouch and retrieved a bamboo tube, handing it over respectfully.
"Your Highness, this is an urgent report from the capital. It states that Duke Mu's Mansion has been found guilty of colluding with the remnants of the Chen Kingdom. By His Majesty's decree, they are to be exiled to the northwest."
Lu Chen's brows lifted slightly in surprise.
He had only recently taken command of the Jinyiwei, and yet the intelligence network was already functioning smoothly.
Taking the bamboo tube, he drew out the scroll and read through it carefully.
The information was clear—this was part of the regular Jinyiwei intelligence exchange. The agents in the capital hadn't yet realized that he, the King of the North, was now their new master.
His expression grew heavy as he read further.
Noticing the change in his demeanor, Chu Yuqin asked gently, "Chen'er, what's wrong?"
Lu Chen's tone was cold and steady. "Commander Liang reports that when Duke Mu's family is exiled to the northwest, they'll likely face multiple assassination attempts. With Duke Mu stripped of all his power, he is now just an ordinary man. There's a strong chance… they won't survive the journey."
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